GPL Infectiousness

[Derek Neighbors]

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On Mon, 2002-09-30 at 22:12, der.hans wrote:
> > I'm missing something - according to RMS in the quote
> > above, the point of using the GPL on libraries is to
> > give an advantage to free software developers over
> > proprietary software developers. Yet I know you are
> > more familiar with this topic than I, so where am I
> > going off track?
>=20
> I understand his point, but I think he's wrong. We are not preventing the=
m
> from using the GPLd code ( as licensed ), so we it doesn't give us an
> explicit advantage. We do have somewhat of an implicit advantage because
> they probably won't accept the terms of the GPL.
>=20
> It's splitting hairs, I guess, but we need to make sure other people know=
 we
> are not the ones using extortive practices to gain market share.

I think you are undervaluing the 'advantage' it really gives us.  Let me
put in a general way.  Nearly 85% of all free software is under the GPL
(many people like to over look this fact)  Which means that if you are
authoring "free software" under non-gpl compatiable license, you are
locking yourself out of 85% of the existing code base as well as
eliminating the chance to interact with 85% of your peers.  This is a
STAGGERING statistic.  Its nearly as effective as saying that you are
going to use a document format that isnt compatiable with Word.

It is so powerful that AOL/Time Warner has dual licensed Mozilla and Sun
Microsystems has dual licensed Star Office.  They found out the
difficult way that free isnt free enough if you arent GPL compatiable.=20
I think that the GPL en masse was very much an advantage in being able
to sway these large corporations to rethink their licensing.

I agree that 95% of the time the GPL will just scare proprietary
developers away, but in cases where they are seeing the need to have
free software they are understanding that being free isnt enough.  One
must 'preserve' freedom in order to play on this "ballfield" (going back
to older analogies)

=20
--=20
Derek Neighbors
GNU Enterprise
http://www.gnuenterprise.org
derek@gnue.org

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